Several
Palestinian Civilians Wounded
as Israeli Troops Attack Palestinian
Towns
International Press Center,
April 5, 2003
HEBRON, Palestine, April 5,
2003 (IPC+ WAFA)-- Several
Palestinian civilians were
wounded Friday by Israeli
occupation force (IOF) in
separate events in Palestinian
cities, towns and refugee
camps, Palestinian medical
sources said.
Israel
to Leave Peace Talks Unless
Plan Is Amended
New York Times, April 5, 2003
JERUSALEM, April 5 —
Israel will propose more than
a dozen changes to a Middle
East peace initiative, and
is prepared to walk away from
negotiations if the amendments
are rejected, a top aide to
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
said today.
Erekat:
Israel trying to destroy road
map plan
Jerusalem Post, April 5, 2003
Chief Palestinian negotiator
Saeb Erekat on Saturday lashed
out at Israel, accusing the
government of Ariel Sharon
of seeking to seeking to destroy
the US-backed road map plan
for peace in the Middle East.
Weisglass
headed to U.S. for talks on
'road map' peace plan
Haaretz, April 5, 2003
Director-general of the Prime
Minister's Office, Dov Weisglass,
will travel to Washington
next week to deliver Israel's
official response to the United
States on the "road map" peace
plan, Channel One Television
reported Saturday evening.
Belgium
curtails war crimes law; should
end suit against Sharon
Haaretz, April 5, 2003
The Belgian Senate on Saturday
ratified amendments curtailing
the controversial law seeking
to prosecute war crimes and
genocide perpetrators from
around the world, Channel
One reported. The amendments
are expected to bring an end
to the lawsuit against Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon.
Palestinian
mufti bans Bush, Blair from
"holy land of Palestine"
Jerusalem Post, April 5, 2003
The Palestinian Authority's
mufti, Ikremah Sabri, issued
a fatwa (religious decree)
Saturday banning US President
George W. Bush and British
Prime Minister Tony Blair
from setting foot on "the
sacred, holy land of Palestine."
US
Tells Israel to Stop Settlements
in Occupied East Jerusalem
Palestine Media Center, April
5, 2003
Settlers Already Moved into
Arab neighborhood --
April 5, 2003 - The United
States has told Israel to
stop Jewish settlers from
annexing and moving into a
neighborhood in Arab East
Jerusalem, which Israel occupied
in 1967, amidst American fears
that this could anger Palestinians
at a time when Iraq is being
attacked by US and British
troops.
People
and Politics / AIPAC couldn't
have asked for more
Haaretz, April 5, 2003
During his visit to Washington,
Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom
could have taken a lesson
about the war on the road
map from Congressman Roy Blunt
- a leader of the Republican
faction who is close to President
Bush. Blunt has joined forces
with Tom Lantos, the Democratic
minority leader on the House
Foreign Affairs Committee,
to stall the road map. Even
AIPAC people, who have been
pointing out the plan's flaws
to members of Congress, could
not have anticipated such
solid support.
Palestinian
Infiltrates Jewish Settlement
Dayton Daily News, April 5,
2003
JERUSALEM (AP)--A Palestinian
gunman infiltrated the Jewish
settlement of Kiryat Arba
on Saturday, exchanging fire
with Israeli security officials,
the army and a spokesman for
the settlement said.
Palestinian
female prisoners prepare for
hunger strike
Palestinian Information Center,
April 5, 2003
Bethlehem - Amna Mona, representative
of the Palestinian female
prisoners in the Zionist Ramle
prison has said that their
jailers were escalating repressive
measures against them.
Israel
at UN: Let's halt spread of
shoulder-launched missiles
Jerusalem Post, April 5, 2003
The Security Council's Counter-Terrorism
Committee (CTC) should adopt
international standards to
halt the proliferation of
shoulder-launched missiles
like those that nearly downed
an Arkia airliner in Kenya
last November, Israel's ambassador
to the UN, Dan Gillerman,
said on Friday.
J'lem
Mufti: Anyone who helps in
war against Iraq is a heretic
Haaretz, April 5, 2003
The Mufti of Jerusalem, Akrama
Sabri, has issued a religious
edict according to which anyone
helping the military forces
fighting against Iraq will
be considered a heretic, Israel
Radio reported Saturday.
“Searching
Jenin” Book Tour Sparks
Controversy at Florida University
Palestine Chronicle, April
4, 2003
"In an attempt to bar Baroud’s
appearance at the University
of Florida, Gainesville, student
organizations on campus sparked
a debate, accusing Baroud
of propagating hate-speech
.." -- SEATTLE (PC) - After
six long hours of debate in
two heated student senatorial
meetings at the University
of Florida, Ramzy Baroud was
finally welcomed to the campus
to speak about his new book
entitled "Searching Jenin:
Eyewitness Accounts of the
Israeli Invasion", published
by Cune Press, in Seattle.
Graves
of Iraqi fighters potent symbol
of ties with Palestinians
WTNH, April 5, 2003
(Jenin, West Bank-AP, Apr.
5, 2003 8:35 AM) _ At a roadside
cemetery in the West Bank,
in the midst of thistles and
pictures honoring Iraqi leader
Saddam Hussein, the graves
of 53 Iraqis stand as potent
reminders of the Arab nation's
involvement in the Palestinian
struggle. In Jenin,
Iraqi ties run deep. In 1948,
Iraqi troops rushed there
to help fight off Israeli
soldiers who had taken control
of the town.
Stones
vs. bullets
Palestine Monitor, April 2,
2003
Heavily armed Israeli soldiers
"shoot to kill" Palestinian
children -- Omar Matta, a
15 year old from Qalandiya
refugee camp near Ramallah
died earlier today after being
shot in the head and throat
by an Israeli soldier Friday.
Omar was shot as he and others
were throwing stones at heavily
armed and protectively attired
Israeli soldiers near the
Qalandiya checkpoint.
American
Peace Activist Shot in West
Bank
Albany Times Union, April
5, 2003
JERUSALEM -- An American peace
activist working as a human
shield in the West Bank was
seriously wounded on Saturday
when Israeli troops allegedly
opened fire on him.
Palestinian
killed near Kiryat Arba, ISM
Activist Shot
Haaretz, April 5, 2003
A Palestinian gunman was shot
and killed by security forces
near the West Bank settlement
of Kiryat Arba on Saturday
night. The Palestinian was
killed after opening fire
on the settlement, which wounded
one man lightly. Earlier in
the day, two peace activists
were shot by IDF troops in
the West Bank city of Jenin.
An American activist working
as a human shield in the West
Bank city of Jenin was seriously
wounded on Saturday when Israeli
troops allegedly opened fire
on him and two others, the
International Solidarity Movement
said.
Israel
Dumps Roadmap If Amendments
Rejected: PM Aide
Islam Online, April 5, 2003
JERUSALEM, April 5 (Islamonline.net
& News Agencies) - Israel
will dump the internationally
drafted "roadmap" for Middle
East peace if its amendments
are rejected, a key aide of
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
said Saturday, April 5, ahead
of a trip to Washington aimed
at discussing the changes.
Israel
Seeks US Approval to 15 Changes
in Peace ‘Roadmap’
Palestine Media Center, April
5, 2003
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon is to send his chief
of staff Dov Weisglass to
Washington soon to raise 15
points with US officials on
the “roadmap,”
following a statement by the
Secretary of State Colin Powell
stressing that US is “serious”
and determined to carry out
the long-awaited Middle East
peace plan, but could not
impose it on the Palestinians
and Israelis.
Breaking
News: Protest Rally in Mas'ha
International Press Center,
April 5, 2003
17:00— A protest rally
was held today noon in the
village of Mas’ha in
the district of Nablus. More
than 150 peace activists including
Palestinians, Israelis and
foreigners marched through
the village narrow roads to
protest against the Israeli
illegal confiscation of large
areas of Palestinian lands
for the purpose of building
the so-called Fence-Off Wall.
Corridors
of Power / Eroding the road
map
Haaretz, April 5, 2003
Hold the bear hugs -- If Abu
Mazen brings a stop to terror,
Ariel Sharon will find himself
in political trouble.
Plot
to kill Jerusalem patriarch?
Kathimerini, April 5, 2003
The top Greek Orthodox official
in Jerusalem yesterday denied
that an attempt had been made
on his life after a Palestinian
member of his flock said he
had taken money from a senior
bishop to assassinate Patriarch
Irenaios.
Palestinian
Muslim leaders: US trying
to steal Iraq from its own
people
Jerusalem Post, April 5, 2003
An influential Muslim council
on Saturday issued a Fatwa,
or religious edict, condemning
the US-led war with Iraq and
calling for the resumption
of diplomatic negotiations
to restore peace in the Middle
East.
Sharon's
aide: Talks with Palestinians
as soon as new PM installed
Jerusalem Post, April 5, 2003
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's
bureau chief, Dov Weisglass,
said on Saturday that negotiations
with Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen)
would begin as soon as he
took up office and assumed
the responsibilites of Palestinian
Prime Minister.
Mubarak:
Israel exploiting Iraq war
to step up aggression against
Palestinians
Jerusalem Post, April 5, 2003
Egypt's President, Hosni Mubarak,
has accused Israel of exploiting
the war in Iraq in order to
step up its aggression against
the Palestinian people.
Passionate
topic, sane poetry
Daily Yomiuri, April 5, 2003
Naomi Shihab Nye is a prolific
and significant American poet
of Palestinian descent and
a constant world traveler.
She is also one of those valuable
writers who can be understood
and enjoyed by any intelligent
reader. She is sane, funny,
and impassioned. And, in many
of the poems in 19 Varieties
of Gazelle, she is both angry
and sad.
Finding
truth in a history of hurt
The Madisonian, April 5, 2003
Keri Holmes is a unique woman.
When she graduated from Iowa
State University with a B.S.
in Occupational Safety, she
was named the top student
in America....As part of her
goal "to make a difference,"
Holmes joined a Christian
Peace maker Team (CPT) going
to Israel and the West Bank
on February 4, 2003.
Occupation
Chronicle Events in Palestine
April 5, 2003
Palestine Media Center, April
5, 2003
Israeli Occupation Forces
(IOF) raided al-Nusseirat
refugee camp in the Gaza Strip
and wounded at least seven
citizens. IOF also raided
and imposed a curfew on Jenin
and Hebron in the West Bank.
8 Wounded in al-Nusseirat
Refugee Camp / IOF Invade
al-Maghazi Refugee Camp /
IOF Raid Jenin / IOF Impose
Curfew on Hebron
One
year since 'Jenin' - 55 years
above the law, end Israel's
Impunity
Palestine Monitor/BADIL, April
4, 2003
This week marks the 1st anniversary
of the destruction of
large parts of Jenin refugee
camp that left more
than 400 families homeless,
more than 50 dead and
hundreds injured. The Israeli
military attack on Jenin refugee
camp, a protected civilian
area under international law,
took place in the context
of Israel's massive
assault and reoccupation of
Palestinian cities, towns,
villages, and refugee camps
across the West Bank.
Trenches,
barbed wire and checkpoints
Palestine Monitor, April 1,
2003
Salam, Deir Al-Hateb and Azmout
are three small Palestinian
villages less than one kilometer
to the east of the West Bank
city of Nablus, the combined
populations of which are around
10,000. In normal times the
inhabitants work, shop, study
and visit in Nablus; however
in the past six months things
have been anything but ‘normal’
for men, women and children
living there.
Iraq
War News
US
Marines 'kill seven Iraqis
after truck fails to stop'
The Independent, April 5,
2003
Seven civilians, including
three children, were killed
by US Marines last night after
they opened fire on a truck
that refused to stop at a
checkpoint south of Baghdad,
an American television network
reported.
Civilian
Casualties 'Horrifying'
Common Dreams/Canadian Press,
April 4, 2003
Truck Delivered Dismembered
Women, Children -- OTTAWA
-- Red Cross doctors who visited
southern Iraq this week saw
"incredible" levels of civilian
casualties including a truckload
of dismembered women and children,
a spokesman said yesterday
from Baghdad. Roland Huguenin,
one of six International Red
Cross workers in the Iraqi
capital, said doctors were
horrified by the casualties
they found in the hospital
in Hilla, about 160 kilometres
south of Baghdad.
US
forces raid Baghdad
BBC, April 5, 2003
US tanks and armoured vehicles
have launched their first
raid into Baghdad city - and
fought skirmishes with Iraq's
elite Special Republican Guard,
US officials say. Two task
forces went up to the Tigris
river from the southern outskirts
of the city before moving
west towards the airport,
Major General Victor Renuart
told a news briefing at US
central command in Doha, Qatar.
The
cluster bomb controversy
BBC, April 5, 2003
As British forces drop cluster
bombs on Iraq, BBC News Online
looks at where they have been
used in the past and why.
Eighteen months ago, in western
Afghanistan, a 15-year-old
boy picked up what he thought
was a packet of food - it
blew his head off.
French
NGO Chief Slams Hoon Over
Cluster Bomb Use
Arab News, April 5, 2003
PARIS/GENEVA, 5 April 2003
— The co-director of
Handicap International, Philippe
Chabasse, yesterday slammed
British Defense Secretary
Geoff Hoon’s defense
of the use of cluster bomb
units (CBUs), calling it “fallacious”.
“The argument is fallacious
and one cannot speak of a
fixed rate of failure”
for the bombs, Chabasse said
in Paris.
US
jets on alert over Baghdad
The Guardian, April 5, 2003
US attack jets were today
put on 24-hour alert over
Baghdad in preparation for
an assault on the Iraqi capital
after coalition tanks entered
the city earlier today.
Aid
effort founders while water
and food crisis spreads
The Independent, April 5,
2003
The United Nations signalled
its return to Iraq yesterday
by starting relief operations
in Umm Qasr after aid agencies
said the British-led humanitarian
effort in the port was failing
to meet even basic needs.
Security experts from the
UN said Iraq's sole deep-water
port, captured two weeks ago,
was only now sufficiently
secure to enable its workers
to start funnelling supplies
deeper into southern Iraq.
Official
Story Vs. Eyewitness Account
Common Dreams/FAIR, April
4, 2003
On Najaf Killings, Some Outlets
Seem to Prefer the Sanitized
Version -- NEW YORK - April
4 - A recent Washington Post
article describing the killing
of civilians by U.S. soldiers
at a checkpoint outside the
Iraqi town of Najaf proved
that "embedded" journalists
do have the ability to report
on war in all its horror.
But the rejection by some
U.S. outlets of Post correspondent
William Branigin's eyewitness
account in favor of the Pentagon's
sanitized version suggests
that some journalists prefer
not to report the harsh reality
of war.
Media
Should Follow Up on Civilian
Deaths
Common Dreams, April 4, 2003
Journalist's evidence that
U.S. bombed market ignored
by U.S. press -- NEW YORK
- April 4 - In two separate
incidents last week, dozens
of Iraqis were killed by what
eyewitness survivors claim
were U.S. airstrikes. U.S.
officials, however, offered
a range of denials and evasions
about what may have caused
the explosions. Despite evidence
uncovered by one British newspaper
about the second (and more
deadly) of the incidents,
however, most U.S. media outlets
have allowed the story to
end with the official denials.
Coalition
Forces Seek to Isolate Baghdad
The Guardian, April 5, 2003
CAMP AS SAYLIYAH, Qatar (AP)
- American armored combat
troops moved through ``the
heart of Baghdad'' on Saturday
from the south and coalition
troops also took several objectives
surrounding the capital in
the north and northwest, U.S.
military officials said.
Powell
Says U.S. Won't Invade Syria,
Iran
The Guardian, April 5, 2003
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - Iraq should
be ruled by its own people
and American forces will not
invade Syria and Iran after
liberating Baghdad, Secretary
of State Colin Powell was
quoted as saying in an interview
published Saturday.
Poll
shows American support for
U.S. military action against
Iran, Syria
Haaretz, April 5, 2003
WASHINGTON - Half of the American
population supports U.S. military
action against Iran if it
continues to move toward nuclear
weapons development, a poll
released on Saturday showed.
Postwar
Plan Worries Legal Community
Washington Post, April 5,
2003
Iraqi Lawyers, Judges Object
to Interim Authority, Propose
Rules for Elections -- A group
of exiled Iraqi lawyers and
judges yesterday expressed
concern about the Bush administration's
plans for creating an interim
authority in postwar Iraq
and said that anyone appointed
to serve in a transitional
government should be barred
from running in the country's
first elections.
Thousands
Abandon Homes, Hope
Washington Post, April 5,
2003
BAGHDAD, April 4 -- The exodus
began before dawn. Thousands
of Baghdad residents today
piled their possessions into
rickety flatbed trucks, battered
orange-and-white taxis, beat-up
Volkswagens and minibuses
plastered with the message,
"God is greatest." They took
colorful mattresses and coarse
blankets, pots and pans, bulging
suitcases, black-and-white
televisions, jerrycans filled
with gasoline and stoves perched
in trunks.
Vials
hold explosives, not chemical
weapons
The Independent, April 5,
2003
American troops uncovered
a hoard of boxes containing
an unidentified white powder
and other suspicious items
yesterday in a sprawling military
industrial plant south of
Baghdad. But early suggestions
that they had found the "smoking
gun", exposing weapons of
mass destruction, quickly
faded.
Discovery
of nine bodies of US troops
in Nasiriyah
Middle East Online, April
5, 2003
AS-SALIYAH, Qatar - Nine bodies
recovered during a mission
to rescue a US Army private
held in southern Iraq are
believed to be those of US
soldiers, a US military spokeswoman
said here Saturday.
'These
are all executions'
BBC, April 5, 2003
Hundreds of bundles of bone
in strips of military uniform
have been found by British
soldiers at an abandoned Iraqi
military base on the outskirts
of the town of al-Zubayr.
Faded black-and-white photographs
show corpses mutilated beyond
recognition, their faces burned
and swollen.
British
find 'makeshift morgue'
BBC, April 5, 2003
Hundreds of skulls and bundles
of bone in strips of military
uniform have been found by
British soldiers at an abandoned
Iraqi military base. Forensic
specialists are expected to
examine what appears to be
a makeshift morgue on the
outskirts of the town of al-Zubayr.
Top
Shi'ite cleric rejects any
US-led govt in Iraq
Reuters, April 5, 2003
BEIRUT, April 5 (Reuters)
- Lebanon's top Shi'ite Muslim
cleric urged Arabs and Muslims
on Saturday to resist any
American governor or U.S.-backed
government set up to run Iraq
immediately after the war.
Main
Shiite Opposition Vows to
Stay Neutral Until Regime
Toppled
Arab News, April 5, 2003
TEHRAN, 5 April 2003 —
The main Iraqi opposition
group yesterday vowed that
Shiites in Baghdad would stay
out of the conflict, as US-led
troops were closing in on
the Iraqi capital.
Bush-Blair
talks on big three peace issues
The Guardian, April 5, 2003
President George Bush and
Tony Blair are to hold an
ambitious emergency summit
in Belfast next week to address
three different world conflicts.
Anti-War
Protests Greet Bush In Northern
Ireland
Islam Online, April 5, 2003
Bush and Blair pause for another
meeting with anti-war protests
expected. -- DUBLIN, April
5 (ISlamOnline.net & News
Agencies) - Anti-war protesters
from all over Ireland are
expected to gather at Hillsborough
Monday, April 7, to bring
their message of peace directly
to U.S. President George W.
Bush.
US
officials feel it 'somewhat
unwise' to host summit here
Belfast Telegraph, April 5,
2003
THERE was opposition among
Congress officials to President
Bush's visit to Belfast next
week. One very senior Republican
Party official said that there
was a feeling that it was
"somewhat unwise" to host
a summit in Belfast while
America is at war.
Europeans
Urge Key Role for U.N.
Washington Post, April 5,
2003
U.S. Should Take Charge of
Security in Postwar Iraq,
Ministers Say -- PARIS, April
4 -- The three leading European
opponents of the war in Iraq
increased pressure today on
the Bush administration to
allow the United Nations to
take a "central role" in the
long-term political and economic
reconstruction of the country.
U.S.
Won't Install Iraqi Expatriates
Washington Post, April 5,
2003
Inclusive Interim Authority
Is Pledged -- Responding to
concerns that the United States
will install an interim authority
of Iraqi exiles after the
fall of President Saddam Hussein,
the Bush administration said
yesterday that it will recruit
people from many parts of
Iraqi society to advise U.S.-led
occupation forces and help
design a new government.
Security
Council Voices Concern over
Access by Iraqis to Relief
Supplies
Palestine Chronicle, April
4, 2003
After hearing an update on
the humanitarian situation
in Iraq by Deputy Secretary-General
Louise Frιchette today, the
members of the Security Council
expressed their concern regarding
the Iraqi population's access
to relief help.
IraqWar.ru
Report
IraqWar.ru
April 4, 2003, 1507hrs MSK
(GMT +4 DST), Moscow - By
the morning of April 4 the
situation on the US-Iraqi
front showed a tendency toward
stabilization. As the forward
coalition units reach Baghdad
they fulfill their primary
orders outlined by the coalition
command. During the four days
of the advance elements of
the US 3rd Mechanized Infantry
Division have bypassed from
the east the Iraqi defenses
at Karabela and, without encountering
any resistance, advanced around
140 kilometers along the Karabela-Baghdad
highway and reached the Iraqi
capital. However, the goals
of this attack will be fully
achieved only when the US
Marine brigades, now advancing
along the left bank of the
Tigris, reach the southeastern
outskirts of Baghdad.
SA
human shields lead anti-war
march to Lenasia
South African Broadcasting
Corporation, April 5, 2003
Most of the South African
human shields who returned
from war-torn Iraq this week,
led a march of thousands of
people from Klipspruit to
Lenasia, south of Johannesburg,
today, to protest against
the war.
British
'leaflet bomb' Basra
BBC, April 5, 2003
British troops have staged
more raids in Basra overnight,
searching houses of suspected
Baath party members and making
several arrests. They have
also dropped thousands of
leaflets over the eastern
part of Iraq's second city,
said the BBC's Hilary Andersson,
who is travelling with the
troops.
Troops
to hand out leaflets explaining
Blair's plan for Iraq
The Independent, April 5,
2003
Tens of thousands of leaflets
detailing Tony Blair's personal
pledges for the future of
Iraq are to be distributed
by troops across Iraq, as
part of a renewed publicity
campaign to win the support
of the Iraqi people.
Marine
officer relieved of his command
The Guardian, April 5, 2003
A senior American marine officer
fighting in southern Iraq
was yesterday relieved of
his command. Colonel Joe Dowdy,
the decorated commander of
the US marines' 1st regimental
combat team, was sacked yesterday
afternoon, the military headquarters
in Qatar, confirmed. No reason
was given.
Women
suicide bombers appear on
TV
Reuters, April 5, 2003
DUBAI (Reuters) - Al Jazeera
television has broadcast a
videotape which it says was
made by two Iraqi women who
later set off a suicide car
bomb outside Baghdad, killing
five people including three
soldiers.
The
mood changes as the marine
invasion gains momentum
The Guardian, April 5, 2003
For years, the story of the
Republican Guard has been
told as an epic in waiting,
the story of an elite, well-equipped,
motivated force, loyal to
Saddam Hussein, outgunned
by the US, no doubt, but ready
to force America to fight
and slog and shed blood if
it tried to take Baghdad.
America's
remake of Mideast must overcome
troubled past, turbulent present
San Francisco Chronicle, April
5, 2003
At sundown, the gentlemen
of Aqaba gather at outdoor
tables under a spreading acacia
to suck on water pipes, sip
mint tea and watch the bombing,
live from Baghdad.
James
Ridgeway's War Log
Village Voice, April 4, 2003
U.S. Military Stretched Dangerously
Thin, Armed Forces Shortage
Could Be 'Problematic' in
Future Conflicts -- Regime
change in Iraq ought to be
a godsend to George Bush's
re-election campaign, but
it comes with an ominous warning
for future U.S. national security.
With the American military
deployed as an occupation
force in Iraq and top cop
in Afghanistan, the U.S. armed
forces would be spread far
and wide. There are 240,000
American troops in the Gulf
region now and thousands more
headed that way.
Fog
of war shrouds the facts
The Guardian, April 5, 2003
Claims and counter-claims
as off-the-record briefings
add to confusion -- In a week
during which an apparent "operational
pause" by coalition forces
was replaced by sweeping advances
right to the outskirts of
Baghdad, it has been as difficult
as ever to discern hard fact
from the fog of war.
It’s
Now Impossible to Cross Into
Iraq From Kuwaiti Border,
Say Journalists
Arab News, April 5, 2003
ABDALI, Kuwait, 5 April 2003
— A French television
journalist escaped unhurt
last night after being fired
on by Kuwaiti border police.
The journalist, a member of
a French television crew,
had been trying to enter Iraq
for the past five days.
US
troops threatened with 'unconventional
attack'
The Guardian, April 5, 2003
Saddam Hussein's government
yesterday threatened to strike
back with "a non-conventional
act" against US forces ringing
Baghdad but insisted it would
involve a suicide attack rather
than chemical or biological
weapons.
White
House hunts western oil chiefs
to advise Iraqis
The Guardian, April 5, 2003
Plans for British and US executives
to advise industry likely
to meet resistance from critics
of Bush administration --
Senior American and British
oil executives are being headhunted
by the White House to advise
Iraq's oil industry as part
of America's plans for reconstruction.
Bereaved
Iraqis Doubt Bush's "Humanity"
Islam Online, April 5, 2003
BAGHDAD, April 5 (IslamOnline.net
& News Agencies) - An
old man cries over the coffin
of his daughter. His wife
and younger daughter sit in
the dirt outside the mortuary
in shock and abject sadness.
Pressure
on king to denounce invasion
The Guardian, April 5, 2003
Jordan's leader falls short
of direct criticism of US
-- Jordan's King Abdullah
is fighting a rearguard action
against rising pressure from
Islamist as well as leftwing
parties to denounce the US
and British invasion of Iraq
as "illegitimate" and expel
American troops from his country.
Antiwar
Marchers Invoke Ideas of King
35 Years After His Death
Common Dreams/New York Times,
April 5, 2003
Playing bluesy funeral dirges,
a Dixieland band led about
200 antiwar demonstrators
from Morningside Heights to
Bryant Park yesterday on a
frigid, misty, gray Manhattan
morning. Marchers carried
mock coffins. A woman wore
a black shroud. While the
protest was presented as a
funeral procession for the
"dead and not yet dead" in
Iraq, its inspiration drew
heavily on the life of the
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr.
Saddam's
Fedayeen Hit Baghdad Streets
The Guardian, April 5, 2003
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Black-clad
members of President Saddam
Hussein's Fedayeen militia
appeared Saturday for the
first time in the streets
of central Baghdad, where
the arrival of U.S.-led forces
created a storm of rumors
and confusion.
UN
and Army at Odds as Troops
Encourage Looting
Common Dreams/The Times, April
5, 2003
UNITED NATIONS officials have
rebuked British commanders
for urging local residents
to loot buildings belonging
to the Iraqi Army and the
ruling Baath Party. The British
view is that the sight of
local youths dismantling the
offices and barracks of a
regime they used to fear shows
they have confidence that
Saddam Hussain’s henchmen
will not be returning to these
towns in southern Iraq.
A
Witness to Bombs, Death, Forgiveness:
Common Dreams/San Francisco
Chronicle, April 5, 2003
Oakland Grandmother Wages
Peace in Iraq -- The
U.S. government is covering
up the killing of Iraqi civilians,
says a religious Oakland grandmother
who had never been to the
Middle East or put herself
in serious harm's way until
last week -- when she found
herself amid falling bombs
in Baghdad.
Cash
Flows to Buy Tribal Loyalty
Common Dreams/Globe &
Mail, April 4, 2003
Allies Still Await Uprisings
Against Hussein After Paying
Out Millions, Sources Say
-- U.S. and British intelligence
agents funneled millions of
dollars in cash payments to
Iraqi tribal leaders before
the war began to buy their
loyalty and encourage uprisings
against Saddam Hussein, according
to sources in Kuwait and Washington.
US
Arms Group Heads for Lisbon
Common Dreams/The Portugal
News, April 4, 2003
Directors of one of the world’s
largest armament companies
are planning on meeting in
Lisbon in three weeks time.
The American based Carlyle
Group is heavily involved
in supplying arms to the Coalition
forces fighting in the Iraqi
war.
Blast
Rocks Central Baghdad Near
Hotel
The Guardian, April 5, 2003
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - A huge
explosion resounded across
the central part of the Iraqi
capital after low-flying aircraft
were heard late Saturday,
shaking buildings including
the Palestine Hotel, where
foreign journalists are staying.
Anti-War
Tax Initiative Launched Against
Iraq War
Common Dreams/National War
Tax Resistance Coordinating
Committee, April 4, 2003
ITHACA, NY - April 4 - Citing
Henry David Thoreau and General
Alexander Haig, a group opposing
the war in Iraq has launched
a petition drive to enlist
support for persons who choose
to withhold federal income
taxes in protest against the
war.
Jordanians
Seeking Martyrdom In Baghdad
Islam Online, April 5, 2003
AMMAN, April 5 (IslamOnline.net)
– The heartbreaking
images of blood and Iraqi
civilians torn apart in the
U.S.-led indiscriminate bombing
of all Iraqi cities broadcast
daily by TV channels moved
a lot of Jordanians, who decided
to go to Baghdad to fight
off the U.S.-led invasion
troops.
Soldier
Faces Murder Counts in Grenade
Attack
Washington Post, April 5,
2003
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky., April
4 -- A soldier from the 101st
Airborne Division has been
charged with murder in a grenade
attack on officers' tents
in Kuwait that killed two.
The charges against Sgt. Hasan
